Jesus makes a surprising promise here. He will personally ask the Father to give his disciples another Advocate. They know Jesus will soon leave them. He will go to his Father (John 14:1–4). They will miss his help and support, but another Helper will be provided. The word parakletos used here is derived from the verb meaning to call for help.
It therefore refers to someone who strives for you, who does everything possible to ensure your well-being. With his help, you will overcome even the greatest challenges. And the wonderful thing is that this person will always remain with you. You will never appeal to his help in vain. Who is this wonderful Helper?
Jesus immediately answers this question. He is talking about the Spirit of truth.
This characterization resonates with how Jesus recently described himself: I am the way, the truth, and the life
(John 14:6). It immediately becomes clear that this Helper is closely related to Jesus. Both desire to serve the truth. Both are entirely trustworthy. The designation the Spirit
shows that this is not a flesh-and-blood human being. A divine Person is in view. In John 14:26, we read that Jesus therefore refers to him as the Holy Spirit.
This holy Person is not visible to us. By nature, we have no antenna or physical senses to perceive him. This is also the reason the world cannot receive him. It does not see him, and therefore the first reaction of many is that this Spirit of truth does not exist. For centuries, the strict rule of seeing is believing
has held true for many. This very thing blinds them to God's work on earth.
Yet, this does not apply to everyone. Jesus can say to his disciples, You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
They came to know Jesus through the Spirit of truth. After all, they saw God at work in their Master. Once, Jesus asked his disciples, And who do you say I am?
Peter then answered, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Jesus responded, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven
(Matthew 16:15–17).
Jesus and the Holy Spirit are intimately connected. John the Baptist once said of Jesus, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire
(Matthew 3:11). In this way, Jesus also saw and put into practice his commission to work. He so desired that people would see the Holy Spirit at work in him. That is why, in his instructions about prayer, he urged them to ask the Father in heaven for the gift of the Holy Spirit (see Luke 11:13).
Jesus will continue his work for his own in heaven. Therefore, the apostle John can write: But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous
(1 John 2:1). And Jesus promises that, during the time that he intercedes for us with the Father, we will have a Helper of divine stature, the Holy Spirit, on earth. He remains with us; in fact, he desires to dwell in us. This was immensely helpful for Jesus' disciples then—and has been just as valuable to his followers in every century since. We will never lack this powerful help from above. It is wonderful to know and experience this!
16 Et moi, je prierai le Père, et il vous donnera un autre consolateur, afin qu'il demeure éternellement avec vous,